Oil prices recorded their largest one-day drop in two weeks on Thursday, with expectations building that OPEC will end an output deal that has been in place since the start of 2017 due to concerns about supplies from Venezuela and Iran. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may decide in June to lift output to make up for reduced supply from Iran and Venezuela and in response to concerns from Washington about a rally in oil prices, OPEC and oil industry sources told Reuters. Click Read More below for additional information.

Earnings per share for the first quarter ended May 5, 2018, were $0.17 compared to $0.33 for the quarter ended April 29, 2017. First quarter operating income was $154.8 million compared to $209.2 million last year, and net income was $47.5 million compared to $94.1 million last year. The company reported net sales of $2.626 billion for the first quarter ended May 5, 2018, an increase of 8 percent compared to sales of $2.437 billion for the quarter ended April 29, 2017. Comparable sales for the first quarter ended May 5, 2018, increased 3 percent compared to the thirteen weeks ended May 6, 2017.

Domestic revenue of $8.41 billion increased 6.3% versus last year driven by comparable sales growth of 7.1%, partially offset by the loss of revenue from 17 large-format and 193 Best Buy Mobile store closures over the past year. International revenue of $697 million increased 13.1% versus last year. This increase was primarily driven by comparable sales growth of 6.4%, due to growth in both Canada and Mexico, and approximately 500 basis points of positive foreign currency impact. Domestic gross profit rate was 23.3% versus 23.6% last year. International gross profit rate was 23.4% versus 24.5% last year. Click Read More below for additional information.

UPM Paper Europe and North America (ENA) business has been renamed UPM Communication Papers to underline the industry focus and global reach of the business area. It also highlights UPM's long-term commitment to sustaining its global graphic paper business, building on the view that paper will continue to be an important part of the media mix in the publishing industries and business communication. UPM Communication Papers is a world leading producer of graphic papers, offering an extensive product range for advertising and publishing as well as home and office uses. Click Read More below for additional information.

Expera Coated Products announced today a new brand of liners used in the manufacture of Advanced Composites. AeroBak™ liners are designed with specific properties and performance characteristics to meet the extreme challenges encountered during the manufacture and delivery of prepreg. These properties represent years of development of both the base sheet and the coatings.
“Expera Coated Products’ AeroBak™ liners deliver solutions to the market using unique technologies that extend our products beyond traditional release liners,” explained Harry Challender, Vice President of Expera Coated Products. “Through collaboration, our team leverages the depth of experience we have in both paper and coating technologies to provide a distinct product to address individual requirements. Expera Coated Products is committed to this industry as witnessed by our recent investment in capacity designed around the unique needs of the composite market.” Click Read More below for additional information.

In the middle of May, more than 400 guests from all over the world attended the Packaging Day hosted by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site. Under the slogan “Think out of the Box”, they witnessed the premiere of the Primefire 106 – what up until then was only available to see in customers’ print shops and in the laboratory environment is now also installed in the Print Media Center Packaging, and thus completes the extensive demo range in the world’s biggest demo center for packaging solutions. Heidelberg is the only manufacturer to integrate offset and digital printing including finishing via the Prinect workflow, and is opening up new business models for packaging printing. The Packaging Day offered the visitors a platform for getting new ideas and inspiration for their current and future business models. Three information tours – “Packaging as you like”, “Operational Excellence”, and “Special Applications” – addressed the trends in the industry and provided a comprehensive presentation of the corresponding solution from Heidelberg. Click Read More below for additional information.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation has approved $30 million for expansion and improvements to its nonwovens manufacturing facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The plant produces nonwoven materials for Kimberly-Clark's North American adult and feminine care brands including Depend, Poise and U by Kotex. The two-year project will focus on expanding the plant's production capacity and efficiency, and is expected to add 14 new jobs at the site, while maintaining current employment. Click Read More below for additional information.

SCA is aiming to become completely fossil free. The Ortviken paper mill has taken a major step in the right direction and last year reported the lowest level ever of emissions from fossil fuels. In conjunction with BioCoop, Ortviken invested in a new combustion unit which made it possible to replace oil and LPG with wood powder. In 2012, Ortviken emitted 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a figure that dropped to 17,000 tonnes in 2017. "This is the lowest level of emissions of fossil carbon dioxide from oil and LPG ever. In 2017, we emitted 26,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide compared with five years ago. This is equivalent to 283,000 journeys in a Volvo car between Sundsvall and Stockholm," says Charlotta Lindberg, environmental engineer at the Ortviken paper mill. Click Read More below for additional information.

Smurfit Kappa Group plc is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire Reparenco, a privately owned paper and recycling business in the Netherlands, for a cash consideration of approximately €460 million following a competitive process. Reparenco operates a two machine paper mill in the Netherlands with a capacity of 675,000 tonnes together with a 750,000 tonne recovered fibre operation. Reparenco employs 315 people with Gross Assets of €189 million and generated EBITDA of €41 million in the 12 months to April 2018, during which time the business continued to ramp up production. Click Read More below for additional information.

During the first quarter of 2018, we adopted ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). As a result of the new accounting standard, income relating to our credit card program and gift card breakage that previously offset selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses has been recorded in other revenue in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for all periods presented. The increase in other revenue for the first quarter of 2018 is the result of higher penetration from our growing credit card program. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2018 was $96.1 million or 29.4 percent of sales compared to $95.6 million or 28.3 percent of sales in 2017. Click Read More below for additional information.

After more than 100 years in business, Midland has grown from a single Midwest location to a national company with offices from coast to coast. This type of growth requires relentless effort on doing things right.